The Life of Aeris Gainsborough
by tasraeles
Summary: Cetra are born of the planet, they speak with the planet, unlock the planet and then return to the promised land. What led to this Cetra's journey? Tribute to Aeris.
1. Chapters 1 and 2

**This story is, of course, based on and inspired by Final Fantasy VII created and owned by Square-Enix.**

In case anyone was wondering, I'm using _Aeris_ instead of _Aerith_ for two reasons. 1) That's how her name appeared in the original game and 2) I like the way the _s_ sounds better than the _th_.

The first two chapters focus more on Ifalna than Aeris because at this point she is a baby and can't do very much. The following chapters will center more on Aeris as the title implies.

* * *

**The Life of Aeris Gainsborough**

**Chapter 1: A special gift**

The bitter cold wind from the great glacier blew against the walls of Prof. Gast's little sanctuary at Icicle Inn. The professor sat quietly in his chair fighting sleep. He'd been up most of the night with the baby. She hadn't slept well at all with her mother gone. Ifalna had left that morning, she said she was getting a present for the baby and it would be a good chance for the two of them to bond. She had been right, even though this tiny person made him sleep deprived, he loved her dearly.

As he gazed at his beautiful daughter lying still under her blanket, he felt a pang of distress. Deep, in the back of his mind he knew that she would be discovered and he feared what that meant. Ifalna had said that their daughter was special, she was a gift of the planet. He had asked her what she meant, but she only smiled in return. It peaked his curiosity as a scientist, but as a father he convinced himself it only meant she was a cetra. If she had meant more than that, it was better that he didn't know.

The baby stirred and cooed as she started to wake again. "oh no, no, no, no. Shhhh. Honey." He picked her up and rocked her gently feeling very tired. He danced around, patted her back and shushed her softly. "Oh please, Aeris, daddy is so tired." Aeris pulled back and stiffened her arms. She was so strong! She looked at him with her bright, glowing green eyes and gave him her first smile. He felt his heart melt and he wished that she could smile like that forever. Aeris touched his face with her tiny hands, stuck out her tounge at him and giggled. Her hands started to glow and suddenly Gast felt better than he had in years, as if he had been infused with life. The glow faded and Aeris, seeming now very content, snuggled into his chest and fell asleep.

He set her back down in her crib and started pacing the room. _What the hell was that?_ He thought to himself. How could an infant, even a cetra, heal someone? What had Ifalna meant? He looked down at Aeris, his eyebrows furrowed together in a deep frown. "What are you?" He whispered to himself.

"I told you" Gast turned to see Ifalna standing in the doorway. "she's special."

"I can see that." He had to keep himself from hurling questions at her. He said instead "She smiled and laughed."

"Ohhhh!" Ifalna rushed over and peered at her little daughter. "She is so sweet."

"What did you get for her?" She gave him that sly smile of hers and held out a small pale green materia the size of a marble. He leaned closer to examine it. "What...? I've never seen anything like that before. What does it do?"

"Let's hope you never have to find out." She placed it in a velvet pouch and laid it next to Aeris. She looked at Gast again and her smile faded a little. "You're looking well." She leaned her head to the side. "I'm sure you have many questions and I do want to answer them, but..."

"I know. Aeris' safety means more to me than anything. Both of you do."

"It's not that so much as...I don't know how to really say it. You deserve some explaination." She walked about the room with her hands to her mouth thinking of how to tell him. She was surprised by how much she loved and trusted him. "Remember what I told you about the planet? It's watching Jenova and everything closely? How the Cetra weren't able to heal the planet themselves? The Cetra are born of the planet, it called us. It provided a way to protect and heal itself. Something...something evil has emerged in recent years. I'm not entirely sure what it is, it's so hard to really understand exactly...It's like something old...ancient, is coming to life in a new form. The planet is protecting itself again. It's given us a gift."

Gast paced around the room again trying to make sense of it. "You said that the Cetra themselves don't have special powers, they used the planets own energy. But Aeris...she..." he looked again in the crib and watched Aeris' little chest rise and fall as she breathed. "The planet's gift." He felt tired again. His mind drained all his energy as it raced to place all the pieces together. He slumped down in his chair and then he felt soft hands run through his hair and stroke his neck. Ifalna knelt down and kissed his forehead.

"You should sleep. I'll get up with her if she wakes." Gast just nodded and kissed her back as he rose and headed for bed. He fell asleep almost as soon as his head hit the pillow.

Ifalna gently carressed her baby's cheek. "Yes my dear," she whispered tenderly, "I'm afraid it falls on you. You and I are now the last of the Cetra." Her eyes began to water and she sniffed feeling a little lump form in her throat. "You need to be strong my love. You'll have to be stronger than the rest of us. But don't worry, you'll never be alone. I promise." She kissed her soft little cheek and settled down into the chair and eventually fell asleep as the planet sang it's age old lullaby to her, comforting her and reminding her that she was never alone either.

* * *

**Chapter 2: Taken Away**

A week later, the soldiers came. Aeris was only twenty days old and Gast had set up his video recorder again to document Aeris. He was fully intent on putting her whole life on tape; Ifalna, however, told him he should not dote on her so much or she would not be strong. She was, afterall, different from other children. She had many hardships ahead of her.

Gast told her that he wouldn't let anything happen to either of them. They shared a kiss and a loud knock came at the door interupting their private moment. As Gast went to the door to send the intruders away, soldiers burst in and overtook them. Professor Hojo entered the room and took Aeris and her mother into custody and Gast died trying to protect them. Aeris shrieked both at hearing the gun fire and feeling her father slip away and return to the planet.

Hojo found the recordings of Gast's interviews with Ifalna and took them for himself. After he was finished plundering Prof. Gast's research, he left the building feeling very pleased with himself and ordered the soldiers to escort his precious specimens out of Icicle Inn.

They would be transported to Midgar where, Hojo told Ifalna, he'd cunduct expirements on them. He went out of his way to let her know exactly what she should expect. He was an insane, slithery man with an incredibly annoying laugh and he laughed often. Ifalna guessed he was trying to frighten her by telling her about his expirements, instead it only iritated her. She hummed to Aeris to soothe her and drown out Hojo's shrill voice.

All she could think about was protecting her baby, whatever that meant.

"It's a shame the infant is only half ancient." Ifalna glanced up at Hojo as his words caught her attention. He didn't seem to notice as he was musing to himself. "I'll have to conduct some studies on her closely, but judging from her mixed genetics, she obviously won't be as strong as the mother."

Ifalna, feeling a degree of relief, hugged Aeris closer to her. Hojo could never find out about Aeris' abilities or she would be condemed to the same fate as her mother, or even worse. Ifalna shuddered to think about it and decided at that moment she would have to work with Aeris constantly so that she would never be discovered. If an ancient was what he wanted, than that's what he would get, but it would never be her sweet baby. It saddened her, though, that Aeris would not have the freedom to explore her talents. _Someday._ Ifalna told herself. _someday she will be free. She will just have to hold on until then. _"Be strong my dear." She whispered softly, feeling it would be something she would have to tell her often.

Hojo led them away from Icicle Inn to the transport SUV he had riden in on. A man in a suit stepped out and looked Ifalna over. He touched his ear and mumbled something then turned to Hojo. "We'll ride south and meet with the helicopter." He said, "We'll need to lay over in Costa Del Sol to refuel before we head to Midgar." He jumped back into the SUV without waiting for a response. Hojo may be in charge, but he in no way was respected.

They loaded up and left Aeris' first home. She had quieted down now, but was looking around at everyone with interest, studying them. Her big green eyes peered at the man in the suit and settled on him. He gazed back at her and smiled despite himself.

"Beautiful eyes." He told Ifalna taking off his sunglasses.

"You work for Hojo?" Ifalna asked with a tinge of venom in her voice.

"Subordinate to him for now." He replied, a look of disdain crossing his face when she mentioned Hojo's name. "I'm a Turk, I work for Shinra Inc. I was assigned to Hojo to..."

"Kidnap me and my baby?" She interupted feeling her anger rise. She told herself to be calm, she needed a way to escape and he did not seem to be a terrible person. Maybe, just maybe, he could help her.

"Locate and escort you to Midgar." He calmly corrected then added. "Prof. Gast was an unfortunate casualty I'm afraid." He seemed to be genuinely sorry and Ifalna supposed that was his way of saying it. She studied him closely, trying to gage his personality. He was neat and clean, his brown hair was cut short so he would not have to fuss with it and his face was closely shaven. He was a professional and wanted that to show in his appearance. At first glance he seemed cold, but his eyes betrayed him. They were kind, brown eyes that reflected what he felt.

"What is your name?"

"Asalie." He put his sunglasses back on, taking on a cold persona once more. Sensing their conversation was over, Ifalna settled back and began humming again to try and put Aeris to sleep.

The rest of their journey was quiet, nothing more was said to her and she felt no need to speak. Aeris slept most of the time and only woke when they landed in Costa del Sol. Ifalna was allowed to roam around town, followed closely by at least one soldier and Asalie giving her very little privacy. Still, she savored the sunshine and shared as much of it with Aeris as she could.

Once the helicopter was refueled, they wasted no time getting underway. Hojo was becoming impatient to get to his laboratory and kept barking orders to hurry things along. Soon they were in the air again and on their way to Midgar. It wasn't long before Ifalna saw the scarred land surrounding the city and her heart began to ache. She felt Gaia's pain here, constant like a wound that wasn't allowed to heal. Aeris felt it too and started to fuss and squirm.

Once they reached the city, they went directly to the helipad on the Shinra building to land. Hojo led them inside to meet the president. He was a stocky man with blond hair and blue eyes and charismatic. Their meeting was short, he extended a welcome to Ifalna even going so far as to call her a guest. Hojo ordered Asalie to take her down to his laboraty then continued his conversation with President Shinra.

Asalie did not look pleased. He grumbled to himself as he led Ifalna to the elevator. When the elevator doors opened to the lab, they stepped out to meet a tall young man with shocking silver hair and Ifalna shuddered at the sight of him. Asalie looked surprised. "Sephiroth!" He exclaimed. "What are you doing here?"

"I'm getting my first assignment." He replied coolly. "Hojo wanted me to tell him when I finished my training."

"Already? I can't believe it."

"That's what my instructor said." Sephiroth looked at Ifalna, seeing her for the first time. "Is this the ancient?" Asalie nodded. "I didn't expect a baby. I suppose Hojo knew, though. Professor Gast?" Asalie paused glancing sideways at Ifalna, then shook his head, almost sadly.

"He...resisted."

"I see." Sephiroth turned to leave. "You'll tell Hojo I was here won't you." He stated more than requested, but Asalie just nodded. As Sephiroth was passing them, he stopped, placed his hand on Ifalna's shoulder and looked into her eyes. "I'm sorry." She was too shocked to respond, she hadn't expected that from anyone, least of all this person. All she could do was nod.

After he stepped into the elevator he turned around and looked at Aeris who was staring intently at him and their eyes locked. For a moment, they were motionless as if something unseen was passing between them. Then Sephiroth broke his gaze and smirked as the elevator doors closed. Ifalna felt a chill run the course of her body. A strange welcome to her new home.


	2. Chapters 3 and 4

**Chapter 3: Captivity**

The time passed by relatively quickly at the Shinra building. Every day was the same routine. They got up, went to the lab for observation and tests, they had lunch together and then Hojo separated them to study them individually. Ifalna always quizzed Aeris about what they had her do that day but never once told Aeris about the tests she had done. She always looked exhausted at the end of the day, but perked up enough to tell Aeris her bedtime stories about the planet and the ancients and sing her Gaia's lullaby.

She worked hard with Aeris, telling her how important it was that she not use her abilities and try to hide them as best as she could. It was difficult, especially when they had their breaks after lunch in the arboretum. Even from a few months old Aeris would inspect the plants and coax them to grow and Ifalna had to make it seem as if she was the one doing it. If anyone around them was hurt or tired or even stressed, Aeris was drawn to them ready to heal and it pained her that her mother kept her away. She compensated for that by learning to speak before she was able to walk. She could comfort those around her with her words and it made her feel better when they felt better.

Aeris grew stronger every day while Ifalna grew weaker. Hojo was picking up on his research and preforming progressively more dangerous experiments. He told his colleagues that Ifalna, being a full ancient, was the stronger of the two and therefore would give them better data to use for future research. When Aeris was almost a year old, her mother had to be carried into their room. Asalie had volunteered to bring her in when he saw her. He had developed a fondness for the pair and felt responsible for them. As soon as he excused Aeris' caretaker, he watched as the toddler waddled over to her mother, rested her hands on her and healed her. Ifalna's breathing that had been labored moments before came easier now. She opened her eyes and looked at the turk standing there with a look of awe on his face. "Please..." She whispered. "don't say anything." He just nodded and left the two of them alone without another word.

Ifalna turned her head and started to cry silently. Aeris climbed up onto her stomach and laid down on her chest. "Don't be sad momma." She said in her tiny sweet voice. "Gaia has given us a gift."

She turned to her daughter. "_You_ are my gift dear." She whispered as she ran her fingers through the girl's hair.

"The planet says it's given us a knight." Aeris said insistently. Ifalna raised an eyebrow and listened for herself. She was right, though not a cetra, another gift from the planet had been born. She could not understand why, the voices were overpowering and not making any sense. She lifted Aeris off of her, rose and wiped away her tears.

"Let's not talk about this now." She said softly. "Try to forget it and get some rest dear. You'll have to wait until tomorrow night for your stories I'm afraid." Aeris gave her a kiss and obediently climbed into her bed and fell asleep. Ifalna stayed up for awhile after that trying to get a better idea of what this new gift was. All she found out, however, was what Aeris had already told her. This gift was a knight. She tried asking Aeris about it the next morning, but the little girl had taken her mother's words to heart and had really forgotten about it. She decided it was for the best and went about the rest of the day relatively freely. Asalie had reported about the condition he found Ifalna in to President Shinra who in turn scolded Hojo for getting carried away and ordered he give the ancient time to recover. Almost a full month passed before the tests began again and then it was business as usual.

So it went month after month and year after year. Then the war with Wutai began. Many people died and Aeris had a difficult time dealing with feeling so many lives end. She cried almost every night in her mother's arms.

"Shhh. Don't cry." Ifalna would say soothingly, "They've returned to the planet. Can you hear them? They're at peace now."

At first, she took very little comfort from what she said, but once she listened to the voices of the planet, she could tell they were at peace. Soon, she no longer cried for these fallen ones, but she prayed for them and continued to do so everyday thereafter.

After Aeris turned six years old, Hojo decided they no longer needed to share a room together. He felt that Aeris did not seem to be as strong as he thought she would be at this age and it must have to do with her dependence on her mother. He hoped that separating them would help her to develop.

As soon as the words left his mouth, Ifalna jumped on him enraged. She tore at his face and tried to choke him, all the while screaming like a banshee. After six years of undergoing countless experiments, she could not bare the thought of him doing the same to Aeris. It took four security guards to pry her off of him and then she was placed in isolation. After she was let out, she was sure to behave herself so she could continue to see her daughter. They were allowed to see each other at meal times and there was always a guard present, but te treasured their time together.

Their separation did produce the desired result however, although it was not evident to Prof. Hojo. Aeris discovered that she was able to visit her mother in her dreams and together they would go to a field of flowers within her mother's memories. Ifalna promised her that she would see it someday. _You'll breathe the fresh air and feel the warm sun and hear the birds sing as they fly by._ She would tell her. _You just need to stay strong and I promise you'll see it._

* * *

**Chapter 4: Deliverance**

Aeris sat on the floor, a blue crayon in hand, scribbling furiously on a large piece of paper as she sang a little song to herself. She was almost seven and brimming with energy. Right now, however, she was very focused on coloring the entire page blue, which she had decided that morning was the best color in the world. She was keeping herself busy as she waited for her mother's tests to conclude. She wanted to show off her new masterpiece at dinner.

The doors to Aeris' room slid open and she jumped up to hug her mother. She stopped in place when she saw it was Asalie. She greeted him politely and asked after her mother.

"I'm sorry, Aeris." He said regretfully. "She's not feeling well enough to see you right now."

"What's wrong with her?" She felt her heart constrict like someone was closing their hand around it. "What happened? Why can't I see her?"

"She..." He choked on his words and then knelt down so he could look Aeris in the eyes. "The truth is...your mom hasn't been doing so well since you two have been separated. She can't recover like she did before without you healing her." Aeris' eyes widened and she shook her head.

"I don't know what you mean. I can't..." She began to say trying to deny it.

"I've known since you were almost a year old. I saw you do it, Aeris." He said gently. She began to cry feeling both relieved and scared. "Listen, when they say she's well enough for you to see each other, I'll take you to her OK? Then you can fix her all up." Aeris wiped her eyes then nodded vigorously. Wanting to take her mind off of Ifalna he picked up her picture. "This is very pretty, did you color this?"

"Yes, do you like it?" She asked almost bashfully.

"I do. You are quite the artist." He smiled at her and she smiled back feeling proud of herself.

"You can have it if you want." She told him. He nodded and coughed a little and Aeris noticed his eyes had become glassy looking.

"Thank you." He folded the piece of paper and placed it in his jacket pocket. He coughed again and rose to his feet. "I better get you some food. Come with me." He took her to the cafeteria and ate dinner with her. She talked a lot, about anything that popped into her head, and he listened quietly. She felt more at ease now that he had said he knew about her ability. She had always liked him, he was nice to her, but now she trusted him.

After a little while, his phone rang. "Asalie here." He answered. "I see...Yes. Thank you." He turned to Aeris. "You're mother is stable. You can see her now." He took her to the infirmary where Ifalna was being held. Asalie stood next to the door to give them some privacy as Aeris rushed up to the side her mother's bed and threw her arms around her. She did not look well.

"Mama..." Aeris sobbed quietly. Ifalna reached down and brushed Aeris' hair away from her eyes and grasped her hand tightly.

"You can't heal me now, Aeris. They're watching." She inclined her head to the camera on the wall above them.

"But..." Aeris protested but her mother silenced her.

"I heard Hojo talking. He said it was strange that I haven't been improving as quickly as I have in the past." She coughed violently and Asalie came forward to check her and she waved him away. Aeris started crying. "They'll give me some time to recover before they start again. You can stay with me until then. Don't you worry." She hugged her close causing herself pain as she did and hummed a lullaby to her. It wasn't long before Aeris fell asleep and Asalie picked her up and moved her to another bed. He turned to ask Ifalna if she needed anything, but she had already fallen asleep herself. He stood there for a few moments looking at the two of them before he left.

Days passed and Ifalna gradually healed. On the eighth day, Hojo himself came to examine her and announced that in two more days she would be fit to continue testing.

That night, the lights in the infirmary shut off and the guard that was assigned to them left to find out what was going on. As soon as he stepped out, Asalie entered the room. "Come with me." He helped Ifalna get up and grabbed hold of Aeris hand and quickly walked out of the room and to the elevator.

"There's a riot in sector three and most of the soldiers have been dispatched for crowd control. I took care of the security system, but they'll fix that in no time." They stepped into the elevator and he gently set Ifalna on the floor. He reached into his jacket and pulled out train passes and held it out to them. "You'll need these. Take the train off the plate and down to the slums. You'll be able to hide out there however long you need to." They went down to the fifth floor when he stopped the elevator. The doors opened and he checked the halls before he picked Ifalna up again and walked them to the end of the corridor to the stairwell. "Listen, this is important. Take the stairs down three floors and you'll see a service duct. Get inside and use the ladder to go down the remaining floors and out of the building. Right outside, there's a hatch to a drainline. Go down and follow the red pipes until you hear the train. There will be another hatch outside the station. Don't talk to anyone." He got up and turned to leave. "I'll distract them to give you more time. I'm sorry...for everything." He walked away and headed back to the elevator.

He listened as the door to the stairs opened and shut. He put his hand in his pocket and felt the piece of paper Aeris had given him. He closed his eyes and took out his gun and hoped that this in some way would atone for his sins.


	3. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5: "Last Stop"**

It was a struggle to climb down the ladder in the service duct because of Ifalna's weakened state. Aeris tried to heal her, but she wouldn't allow it. "You need to save your strength." She told her sternly and continued on. They started hearing gunshots echoing in the duct and people yelling unintelligible commands. The sounds of dying moans surrounded them and they were not sure if it was voices or souls that screamed that final plea for life. They quickened their pace and when they reached the first floor, Ifalna was starting to feel a sharp pain in her abdomen and it was getting harder for her to breathe.

Seeing that her mother had slowed, Aeris crawled ahead and looked through the grate to check if the coast was clear. When she saw that it was, she braced herself against the metal wall and kicked with all the force her little legs could muster until the bolts came loose and the grate swung open. She peaked out again and jumped out first so she could help Ifalna. She was just barely able to hold on to her as she practically fell out of the duct, then she helped her to stand and walk towards the opening to the drain line. The hatch was heavy, far too heavy for Aeris to open alone. She looked around and spied a lever laying on the ground next to the grate they just came out of. Asalie had prepared well for their escape. She ran over and picked up the end of the lever and dragged it over to the drain as fast as she could. Ifalna helped set the lever in the hatch and together they were able to lift it up and to the side so they could get in.

Aeris held Ifalna's hand to steady her as she sunk down into the dark hole. She was preparing to go next and then she felt a dark, heavy shadow pass through her, that shadow that taunted her when death was taking hold of someone and turned back to look at the large, imposing building. "Asalie..." She whispered and took a step forward.

"Aeris!" Her mother called to her. "Please hurry!" Aeris' eyes began to water as she felt his spirit slipping away. She could help him, she knew she could. "Let him go, Aeris!" Hearing the urgency in Ifalna's voice, she shook her head to clear away the shadow and reluctantly turned back around and crawled down through the hatch grabbing the lever as she did. She pulled it down with her and set it in place and together they heaved the hatch back in place. After they settled it back down, the two of them buckled from the strain and rested for a moment. Aeris more for grief than exhaustion and Ifalna from the stabbing pain that was now starting to press up into her chest. She gave a little moan as she slid down the wall to sit and Aeris looked at her alarmed.

"Mom..." Aeris began but Ifalna cut her short.

"We still have a long way to go." She whispered and sat up to move on. She braced herself and used the wall to steady herself as she stood. She bit down on her lip and started walking in the direction the red pipes were leading. Aeris followed closely with her lever in hand.

The tunnel seemed to go on forever and there were several times they heard soldiers running above them. Every time they passed by, the two dropped down and held their breath and waited until they couldn't hear them anymore. Then they got back up and continued on as quickly as they could.

After what seemed like an eternity, they heard the train whistle and felt the ground shake as it came to a halt at the station. Ifalna breathed a sigh of relief and as she exhaled her whole body shuddered with exhaustion. "Be strong, Aeris." She found herself saying. Aeris looked at her puzzled but said nothing, instead only nodded and began to set the lever up so they could move the hatch for them to crawl out. They both readied themselves but found that this grate was lighter than the one outside the Shinra building and opened it with minimal effort.

Aeris climbed up first to take a look around. She poked her head up to make sure there wasn't anyone around and when she saw that there wasn't, she climbed out. The openning to the drain was in an alley behind the train station and Aeris took a moment to examine her new surroundings. The noises and smells were so alien compared to what she was used to and her senses were exploding with excitement and fear.

"Psst!" Ifalna said calling her back from her revelry. Aeris turned back to the drain as Ifalna was passing up the lever to her. She took it and set it down on the ground getting ready to help her mother up.

"Well, looky here." Said an angry, nasally voice from behind her. Startled, Aeris turned to see who had spoken. "It seems like a gutter rat has made it's way into my home." He was tall with a pointed chin and a sharp hooked nose and his eyes were sunken into his face. His clothes were filthy and hung loosely on his skeletal frame. The only thing he had of value was a bangle attached to his wrist which had probably been stolen. Frightened, Aeris began to say she was sorry but stopped as he started eyeing her and his irritated expression changed into something malicious. "Hmm, maybe not a rat. A lost little kitten perhaps?" Aeris quickly snatched up the lever and held it tightly in front of her as she backed away from him. "Oh my, my, my." He said mockingly, "The little kitten wants to fight. OK then."

He charged forward and Aeris swung the lever towards his head. He caught the end of it and sneered at her pulling the lever and her closer to him. She gaped at him for a moment stunned, but she quickly regained her senses and swung the bottom end of the lever low at his shin. He yelped as the metal hit his shin full force and loosened his grip on the lever enough for Aeris to pull it away and take another swing. He held up his arm to absorb the blow and she struck the bangle on his wrist which came flying off and landed behind him. She quickly backed up and thrust the end of it into his stomach, pulled away and brought it back down for another head shot which this time made contact. A trail of blood followed the corner of her weapon. She had managed to open a large gash across his cheek and blood was pouring out of it. They stared at the blood on the ground both of them equally in shock.

Remembering herself, she brought the lever up to hit him again, but her attacker was quicker. He angrily grabbed the bar and shoved it into her ribs and then threw her up. She flew through the air and landed on her back getting the wind knocked out of her. She gasped for air and looked up to see the man looming over her ready to strike her again. _Click_. They both looked back to see Ifalna closing the thief's bangle over her wrist.

"What's this?" He asked Aeris who was trying to scoot away from him. "Mama kitty?"

"Get away from my daughter." She told him as she held up the armor. When he only gawked at her in confusion she smirked. "I guess you didn't know what you had." Pulses of light rippled out on the ground around her and she thrust out her hand towards him, the air crackled and then exploded surrounding the man in a blaze of fire. He shrieked and shrunk to the ground writhing in pain. She motioned for Aeris to come to her and together they walked up to the platform to board the next train running down to the slums.

As soon as the call went out that the train was boarding, Ifalna flashed the passes to the conductor and they got on without any trouble. Before Aeris had a chance to ask, Ifalna told her again not to heal her. "We can't take the chance that someone will see you." She whispered to her.

"Why?" Aeris asked frustrated. "Why didn't you let me before when we were alone?" Ifalna closed her eyes and leaned back against the hard cushioned backs of the train seats.

"It'll be hard for you to understand." She said slowly. "I needed it...I needed to feel the pain." Aeris' eyes widened in disbelief, but said nothing and Ifalna continued. "It was a reminder that...that if I failed, you'd feel the same pain." She looked at her daughter, tears welling up in her eyes. "I would rather hurt for a thousand years than ever let that happen to you. I couldn't live with myself if we had been caught again because I was selfish..."

"You've never ever been selfish!" Aeris exclaimed and took her mother's hand. "You could never be." She said softly feeling her own tears well up in her eyes. She wiped them away and sniffed.

"Aeris, please promise me..." She took her small chin in her hand and gently turned her face toward her so they were looking at each other. "Promise that no matter what happens, you won't try to heal me until I'm sure we're safe. If we're taken because you were seen, everything we've been through will be for nothing. Asalie's sacrifice will have been for nothing. Please promise me, Aeris." Reluctantly Aeris promised and Ifalna sat back satisfied. After a few minutes Ifalna chuckled and thought aloud. "It's been a very long time since I was on a train."

The rest of their ride was quiet, interrupted by the occasional whispering from other passengers. Every time they made a stop and new passengers boarded they would look at Ifalna as if she were a ghost, understandable since she looked deathly white as one. Aeris tried to ignore them as best she could, not wanting to draw attention to herself. But then she felt it, that dark shadow pass through her. She looked up at her mother and gasped. She looked much worse now, her lips had turned blue and she looked as though she had a fever. She was fading and death was taking hold.

The train was slowing again and the conductor hallered, "Sector 7 slums! Last stop folks."

Ifalna heaved a heavy sigh as Aeris helped her to her feet and they slowly walked to the exit and stepped out onto the platform. It was early morning now and very few people were there. Aeris tried to hurry her mother along as fast as she could so they could find a safe place where she could help her, but Ifalna was weak and unable to move quickly. When they reached the stairs and Ifalna took a step, her legs buckled beneath her and she tumbled down the stairs and landed hard on the ground. Aeris rushed to her side and tried to help her up, but her strength had been sapped from her body and she lay there limp, barely breathing.

"Get up mama!" She told her shaking her, "We have to keep moving. Get up. Get up. Get up!"

Ifalna touched Aeris' hand and shook her head. She took off the newly acquired bangle equiped with the fire materia and put it on Aeris' small wrist. Then she ran her fingers through her hair and pulled at the tie that held her hair back. It came loose in her hand and she brought it up to the light. It was a small, beautiful orb that had a pale green glow. She took Aeris' hand and placed it on her palm then tightly closed her fingers around it. "This was meant for you." She whispered softly, "Guard it well..."

"Oh dear god!" Exclaimed a woman. She ran to Ifalna's side and looked her over. "We need to get you help." She was about to call out but Ifalna grabbed her arm with incredible force.

"No." She told her then started to loosen her grip. "Please..." She breathed, struggling to talk, "take Aeris somewhere safe..." Her hand went slack and she sank to the ground.

"Mama..." Aeris whispered while tears streamed down her face. "No, not yet." She sobbed as she clutched the small materia to her chest. Aeris felt the shadow drift away and be replaced by a light, tranquil sensation as her mother returned to the planet. She had left the pain behind and was now at peace and Aeris found solice in the embrace of this woman who had wanted to help them.

At least now, they were both free.


	4. Chapter 6

**Chapter 6: Sanctuary**

Her name was Elmyra. She was a warm and generous woman and Aeris thought she was also very pretty. She had her reddish brown hair pulled up loosely in a bun and she wore a modest spring dress that flared out slightly at her petite waist. Her golden brown eyes were kind and sympathetic and looked large in contrast with her small heart shaped face. She spoke gently as she held the little girl, trying to comfort her as best she could. Aeris cried quietly into her hands for awhile, then wiped her eyes and bowed her head over her mother. She laced her tear-soaked fingers together and prayed to Gaia for Asalie and her mother. After the train conductor assured them that he would take care of Ifalna's body, Elmyra took Aeris home with her honoring her mother's last request.

As they walked, she noticed Aeris looking around at everything, her bright emerald eyes were wide with curiosity. "Is this the first time you've been to the slums?" She asked hoping that the girl would be up to talking.

"Yes..." She answered smiling. Her voice was gentle, innocent and sweet. "It's very...dirty." Elmyra burst out in laughter, she had not expected her answer. Aeris listened to her and thought she had a very nice, easy laugh. It wasn't forced or sad like she had heard when she was in Shinra and it warmed her heart to hear it.

"Yes, it is VERY dirty." Elmyra agreed, "It wasn't always like this though. Years ago, before they built the plate above, it was very beautiful here."

"Beautiful." Aeris repeated trying to picture how it might have been without the huge metal plate hovering over their heads. "What was it like?"

"Well, it was brighter." She said thoughtfully trying to call back to mind the memory of old Midgar. "The sky was always so blue in the summer and we would get a gentle breeze from the ocean. That was my favorite time of year here. I liked the warmer weather for gardening..."

"You have a garden?" Aeris interrupted feeling excitement bubble up inside her. Elmyra shook her head sadly.

"No." She replied. "Not anymore. After the plate was built, it blocked out the sun and all my flowers died."

"Oh." Aeris said feeling a little disappointed. She thought about the flowers back in the arboretum and wondered how they would do without her there helping them grow.

"Do you like flowers?" Elmyra asked trying to keep her from feeling sad. In truth, she was surprised how cheerful she was considering she had just lost her mother. Although she sensed she was an unusual child. Kind and very sweet, but unusual nonetheless.

"Oh yes!" Aeris exclaimed happily. "I like flowers very much." They continued to talk about gardens and flowers when they passed by a small playground. Aeris asked about it, not quite sure what it was.

"It's a playground..." Elmyra could see that Aeris was confused. "It's where children come to play. Didn't you have anything like that where you came from?"

"No." She looked at the slide which was a giant mog with the slide coming out of it's mouth. She tilted her head and her eyebrows furrowed together as she tried to imagine how someone would play on it. "Nothing like that at all."

Elmyra felt sad for her when she heard that. _What did you do for fun? _She wondered, but decided it was a subject better left untouched for now. They continued on until the path they were walking split in two. Elmyra turned to the left but Aeris stood in place looking down the right path. She heard soft whispers and felt her mind being gently tugged in that direction.

"Aeris? We better keep going." Elmyra touched her shoulder. "My home is this way."

"What's down this way?"

"Oh...hmm." Elmyra tilted her head thoughtfully as she considered. "You know, I'm not really sure. I haven't been there in years. It used to be the edge of town, but it's probably all just rubble now." She stepped back to the left ready to continue on her course. "Better come along now, it's not safe to stand out here for too long." Reluctantly, Aeris followed her home.

They passed through a small community and Aeris was stunned to see children _her _age. She watched them closely as they played together and wondered what it would be like to talk to them. She had only spoken to adults her entire life and didn't know if kids were really that different to converse with. Elmyra saw her looking at them and smiled.

"Maybe once you've settled in, you can come and play with them." She suggested. Aeris was happy for the offer, although a little apprehensive, and nodded gratefully.

When they finally arrived at Elmyra's home, Aeris was pleasantly surprised by the sight that greeted her. The property was big and oddly clean for being in the slums. There must have been gaps in the upper plate, because a few beams of light streamed down from above. There was a large water main that poured out behind her house into a little reservoir. The water flowed between her property dividing it into three different platforms that were connected by cute little bridges. Aeris looked over the now barren soil and could see where the garden had been. It looked like it must have been beautiful.

The house was a lovely, modest two-story with a large wooden door. Inside was warm and cozy and Aeris instantly felt comfortable and at ease. Elmyra told her to make herself at home while she made breakfast. At the mention of food, Aeris' mouth began to water and she sat at the table and watched as her host prepared their meal. Before long, the smell of eggs, bacon and pancakes filled the air. Her stomach began to growl as Elmyra set a plate of food in front of her and poured a glass of juice. Aeris politely waited for Elmyra to be seated before she took her first bite. It was all she could do to keep from devouring the meal like a starving animal. At Shinra, the food was simple, bland and mostly for nutritional value. It was OK, but Aeris was thankful that this food was none of that. She finished every last bite and thanked Elmyra for cooking.

"You're very welcome." She said as she took the plates away to the sink to wash. "It's nice to share a meal with someone again. I had actually been saving it for my husband, but this is as good an occasion as any I think." She turned to Aeris and smiled, though sadly.

"Oh..." Aeris felt a little guilty for taking the food away from her husband. "Where is your husband now?"

"Wutai." She shrugged with a heavy sigh. "He was suppose to come home on leave." She scrubbed away at the plates then rinsed them off. "That's why I was at the station this morning. I've gone every morning hoping that he'll be getting off the train, but...oh well." She dried off the plates with her apron and put them away. After she was done, she took off her apron and looked back at the little girl sitting at the table. "Enough of that. Look at you! You look exhausted. Why don't you go upstairs and clean up. I'll make up a bed for you and you can rest for a little while."

Aeris didn't argue. Now that her stomach was full, she was fully aware of how tired her body was. She did as she was told and soon found herself in a very comfortable bed with big fluffy blankets covering her. She quickly fell asleep and slept better than she had in her whole life. When she woke up she felt absolutely refreshed. She looked around remembering where she was and what had happened and a flood of emotions rolled over her. She felt that she was safe now, but at the cost of Asalie and her mother.

She ran her fingers over the bangle her mother had put on her wrist and felt the magic swarming inside the materia set within it. She put her hand in her pocket and pulled out the materia her mother had always worn and stared into it. Its glow was almost hypnotic and Aeris became mesmerized by it. As she held it, she could hear the planet speaking to her, whispering what her mother had told her. _This was meant for you..._

"Aeris?" Elmyra was knocking at the door. Aeris snapped to attention as Elmyra entered the room. "Oh good." She sounded relieved. "I was starting to worry. I have some fresh clothes here, why don't you shower and come down for some breakfast."

"Breakfast?" Aeris asked confused. Elmyra laughed at her expression.

"Yes, you slept all day and through the night. I tried waking you a few times but you just fell back asleep. You must have needed it, but I think you're probably hungry now." She started to leave then added. "Oh by the way, after breakfast I have a surprise for you."

As soon as Elmyra left the room, Aeris got out of bed, took a shower and got dressed. She put her hair up and carefully looped the tie around her mother's materia just like she had worn it. She inspected herself in the mirror and, even though there were several pieces of hair around her face that were left undone, she was satisfied. She hurried downstairs and was greeted by freshly baked bread and a bowl of fruit. Her and Elmyra exchanged pleasantries and ate breakfast together. When they finished, Aeris helped Elmyra clear the table and clean up. As soon as they were done, Elmyra took Aeris out for a walk. She didn't say where she was taking her, only that it was a surprise. At first, Aeris thought they were going to the playground in sector 6, but when they came to the split path, they started walking in the direction Aeris had asked about before. The path was lined with quite a bit of debris and looked like nothing was left standing, but Aeris was sure there was something. She could feel it whispering to her to come and find it.

"After you fell asleep, I asked around." Elmyra said with a sly smile, "I was curious myself about what was down here." They rounded a corner and saw a large stone walled church, the only building left. It was old and worn down, but still very beautiful. Elmyra led her to the doors and together they pushed them open and walked inside and were instantly surrounded by light streaming in through the stain glass windows. "I was amazed that it was still standing. I used to come here when I was younger. If I was sad or scared it made me feel better."

"It's very peaceful here." Aeris was awestruck by how beautiful it was and that it really did made her feel at peace. She walked down the isle to the podium and noticed that the floor was breaking apart underneath it. She knelt down to take a closer look and saw a tiny green tendril peaking out from between the floorboards. Stunned that anything was growing here, she began breaking apart the boards and pulling them up to make sure what she was seeing was real.

"Aeris! What are you doing?" Elmyra ran over to investigate. She stopped dead in her tracks and gasped as Aeris pulled up a board and uncovered a plant. It was small and weak, but it was alive. "I don't believe it." She bent down to take a closer look. "This is a miracle. Nothing grows in Midgar."

Aeris gently touched the plant and felt a tiny pulse of life on her fingertips. "Something about this place..." She whispered softly. She carefully examined the ground then stood and pointed at the podium. "Can you help me move this?"

It was hard work, the podium was large and a little heavy, but they managed to get it off the damaged floor. They pulled up more floorboards which wasn't very difficult since they were decayed and weak. Before long they had cleared away the bad boards and discovered that the tiny sprout was only a piece of a larger plant. Aeris' face lit up when she saw it and felt a resolve form within her heart.

"I want to help it grow." She stated frankly. Elmyra smiled to herself, amused by how serious she was, and nodded her approval. Aeris smiled up at her and placed her small hand in Elmyra's and stood there for awhile looking down at the life that had somehow thrived here beneath the floor of this sanctuary in the slums.


	5. Chapter 7

**Disclaimer: I do not own FF7 or its characters. Nope. Not at all. **

A/N: Sorry this took a while to write, I had a lot of distractions happening, but hopefully I'll be able to get back to regularly getting chapters out. Hope you like. R & R.

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**Chapter 7: A New Beginning**

A few weeks had passed since Elmyra had found Aeris at the train station and they had fallen into a comfortable routine. It was a surprise to both of them how well they got along. For Aeris, what would have been a giant hole in her life had been filled by someone who was kind and good and it was comforting for her to know she was helping Elmyra as well. She had been alone and worried for so long, it was nice for her to be able to give her attention to Aeris. She would still go to the station every morning to check if her husband had come home, but it wasn't the only thing preoccupying her mind.

It was rarely quiet when they were together. For the first time in her life, Aeris was able to speak freely and about whatever was on her mind and she took full advantage of this new freedom. She opened up to Elmyra and told her about her life before, how people in lab coats were asking her questions and giving her tests to do, that she used to take care of the plants that were in the building and many other things. They were taking care of the plants in the church when she told about how her mother and her escaped from the laboratory.

"Do you feel lonely sometimes?" Elmyra had asked after Aeris finished talking about the escape. It had been the first time Aeris had really spoken of her mother and Elmyra was a bit concerned that she hadn't really cried since her mother died that day. But Aeris only smiled and shook her head, the loose curls around her face swayed gently.

"I miss her very much." She said sweetly, "But she has already returned to the planet so I don't feel lonely." She spoke like Elmyra should know exactly what she was talking about then she turned to the plants and gently brushed her fingers against a tiny bud that had sprouted.

"The planet?" Elmyra asked perplexed. "Do you mean a star in the sky?"

"No, our planet. Gaia." Elmyra wanted to asked her more, but lost her train of thought when she saw the bud slowly open to reveal small yellow petals. She felt her jaw drop and looked on in amazement as Aeris smiled tenderly at the new flower. "So pretty. The plants are growing so well now, aren't they?"

Elmyra only smiled in return unable to think of anything to say. As she continued to work with the now flourishing plants, she watched Aeris from the corner of her eye as she did the same. Aeris did not notice her watching though, she was engrossed with the greenery and tended to block out everything else around her.

When she had been gardening in the arboretum, even though she could feel the life in the plants and each one linked with the planet's consciousness, she hadn't realized until she came here how detached from the world those plants truly were. What had been a quiet hum in the man made garden floating above the earth, was now a full symphony hidden in the shadows. Every leaf, every stem was intertwined in a vast network of life and consciousness that stretched on without limit. When she touched the plants, she felt immersed in an ocean of thought but did not feel overwhelmed by it. It cradled her, comforted her and gave her purpose.

She knew this was a special place. Even though the church was broken down, it was filled by a serene aura that settled on anyone who entered. It hadn't been an accident that she came here. Even if Elmyra hadn't brought her, she knew she would have found it sooner or later. Gaia had called her to this sacred place to heal the life that had been sleeping within. That is what she had resolved to do and she would continue doing so until she was called somewhere else.

Elmyra regarded Aeris who was reveling in the intricate song of life that she was completely unaware of. It amazed her that one so young could go through so much tragedy and yet be the very picture of tranquility. It became clearer every day that Aeris was special and now she understood why people had been studying her and why she had run away. She knew in her heart that they were probably looking for her and wondered how long it would be before someone came asking if anyone had found a little girl. An idea that had come to her before surfaced once again and she wondered for a moment if it would be for the best. Aeris had become so dear to her, she had fallen in love with her and wanted nothing more than to protect her.

She thought more about the idea, rolling it over in her mind and finally decided that it was indeed for the best. She cleared her throat to get the little girl's attention. Aeris broke away from what she was doing and turned to her companion. She smiled to let her know she was listening.

"Aeris," She began a little unsure, but felt that she should ask. "what do you think about us maybe becoming a family?" Aeris' eyes widened in surprise and she added hastily, "I don't ever want to replace your mother, but it would mean a lot to me if I could call you my daughter." When Aeris only stared at her, Elmyra began to think maybe it was a bit too soon to ask. She was startled when Aeris flung herself into her arms and hugged her tightly.

"You wanna be my mom?" She asked in a tiny voice. Since she came home with Elmyra, she had felt like a guest in passing and often wondered what was going to happen when she had to move on and was a little bit scared of what that meant. Elmyra had been so kind and caring and made it easy to love her. She meant what she said about not feeling lonely because her mother had returned to Gaia. She could hear the voices of the planet comforting her, but what helped more than anything was that Elmyra was with her.

"Yes, I would like that very much." She said as her eyes started tearing up. She held Aeris close and gently caressed her hair. "Can I be your mom?"

Aeris pulled back and nodded as she wiped her eyes and gave Elmyra a big grin. From that day forward, she called her mom and didn't give it another thought.

After they shared another embrace, they turned back to the plants in an uncommon, but comfortable silence. Once they had finished tending to them, they made their way back to the house where they were going to make a delicious dinner to celebrate their new family.

On the way, Elmyra considered her husband. It had been a long time since she had spoken to him about children and with him having to leave for Wutai, they both agreed it would be better to wait until the war ended before they talked again about starting a family. He would certainly be surprised to see he had a daughter when he got back, but Elmyra decided she would cross that bridge when she came to it. She wasn't worried though. After all, who couldn't love this little girl?

Once they got home, Aeris happily ran upstairs to wash up for dinner. While she did so, she listened to Elmyra singing an old folk song to herself as she prepared for dinner. Her lips turned up into a smile when she thought about how happy she was, but it was quickly replaced by a deep frown. She turned off the water and wiped her hands dry and took a deep breath. A terrible, familiar feeling had surrounded her like a blanket and she hugged herself tightly. _He_ was dying.

"Aeris!" Elmyra called, "Are you going to help me?"

Aeris placed her hands together and took a sharp breath in as his spirit fell away and returned to the planet. He had been strong and determined to come home, he wanted to be here and was on his way when he died. Elmyra called her again and she shook her head sadly thinking about how devastated she would be. She took a deep breath and made her way downstairs.

"Mom." She said and noticed Elmyra's face light up at the new title, but then faded when she saw Aeris' solemn expression.

"What is it?" She asked frowning. Aeris walked over to Elmyra and gently touched her hand.

"Please don't cry. Someone dear to you has just died." Aeris lowered her head as she spoke and Elmyra's frown deepened. "His spirit was coming to see you, but he already returned to the planet."

They stood that way for awhile as Elmyra processed what Aeris had just told her. _It can't be true._ She told herself. _She's just tired. She's been working hard and probably just imagined it..._

"Well..." She started to say feeling at a loss for words, "why don't we finish dinner and we can talk about this later."

"Oh. OK." Aeris said simply with a small smile. She was surprised that she had taken the news so well and started getting ready to prepare dinner. She got out the apron that Elmyra had given her and tied it around her waist and took out a mixing bowl and a whisk and several measuring cups. Elmyra watched her and smiled to herself, she was so sweet and eager to help.

She pushed their conversation out of her mind and went to work. Together they made a lovely dinner, singing songs as they did and when it was ready they sat down to eat. They talked and laughed and all the while twinges of doubt sat at the edges of Elmyra's mind. _What if she's right? _She would think and instantly suppress the thought. She would not allow herself to think such sad things, not on such a special occasion.

Tonight, she was a mother who was sharing a meal with her daughter and everything else would have to wait.

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A/N: Whew! I have to say this was a pretty hard chapter to write, but I think it turned out ok though. With Elmyra's account ingame, it didn't seem like it had taken that long for Aeris to start calling her mom and I really wanted to set out that scene as realistically as I could. Very difficult, being that if I were in her place there would be no way I'd ever call anyone else my mom, but then I have to remember that Aeris isn't me, she's Aeris. Anyway, let me know what you think.


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